Mr Bennet, on the other hand, seemed to have taken exception to Elizabeth now having the power to accomplish that which he had openly declined to do. He was not overly cruel, but it was clear that Elizabeth was his favourite no longer. Elizabeth learned quickly what it was like not to be protected from his sarcastic wit.
Elizabeth said nothing to anyone, not even Jane, but she had already decided to leave Longbourn and live with her aunt and uncle in London when she reached her majority. She would continue to let the house in London until her father died and it was needed. She would take a comfortable income, perhaps two hundred a year, from her interest, and she would stay with her relations until she married, or until she felt that it was time to live on her own. Her uncle had predicted that life would become difficult for her, and made the offer before he returned to London the day of his visit. There were stillseveral months before her majority, so she got along as best as she could.
Every person in Meryton save her father, Uncle Phillips, and the residents of Netherfield had asked her to loan or give them money. Her neighbours had pitched everything from business endeavours, investments, to outright charity. Every unmarried man in town had now asked her to marry him, and her mother was not pleased that she had declined every one of them.
The only true matter she had been triumphant about was when, out of fear that one of her sisters might be used as a tool to take her fortune, Elizabeth demanded that her father agree that none of the young ladies of Longbourn was to go out alone, including herself, and that Kitty and Lydia only be allowed out with one of the older girls. She and Jane had already encountered a few persistent gentlemen waiting for Elizabeth out on her walks, and after a stern letter from Uncle Gardiner and a talking to from Uncle Phillips, Thomas Bennet had agreed to add his insistence to Elizabeth’s, and to enforce it.
What broke Elizabeth’s heart most had been the defection of her closest friend Charlotte Lucas. Charlotte, apparently eaten alive with jealousy and spite, ceased speaking to Elizabeth the very moment the news became known, and was only marginally civil to Jane and the other Bennets. The rest of the Lucas family was equally distant with Elizabeth after she had refused John Lucas. Then again when she instructed Sir William to write to her uncle when the man had requested three hundred and fifty pounds to send his youngest to university. Edward Gardiner’s response to Sir William held little warmth in it, and so her friendship with the Lucases crumbled. Mrs Bennet and Lady Lucas remained as thick as thieves because Mrs Bennet still complained about Elizabeth all of the time. Charlotte had taken up with the Long sisters and Mary King, and the ladies made one snide comment after another about Elizabeth in company.
Elizabeth, Mary, and the younger girls enjoyed the parade of handsome officers along with the rest of the little town, and spent a merry hour in the village after, allowing Kitty and Lydia to spend time speaking with the other young ladies who had come to the village forthe same reason. Elizabeth and Mary strolled up and down the market street, browsing the wares in the shop windows.
The following afternoon,Elizabeth waited with her family for the arrival of her father’s distant cousin, Mr Collins. The ladies of the house had only heard of the visit this morning, which had made Mrs Bennet unbearable all afternoon while preparing the house and improving the evening meal.
Mr Collins’s letter was everything ridiculous, and Elizabeth dreaded the next s’ennight. It was obvious that the man was completely insensible, and he had also made it clear that he was in want of a wife and was coming to find one from amongst his cousins at the demand of his patroness. Mrs Bennet had latched onto this immediately, hoping that ifJanecould catch the man’s eye, then perhaps their mother might remain at Longbourn always, and not be obliged to throw herself upon the mercy of that other “ungrateful daughter.”
Mr Collins was punctual to a fault, his hired carriage turning down their lane at precisely four o’clock. He was received with great politeness by the entire family. Mr Bennet said little enough to make his guest welcome, but Mrs Bennet was ready to converse, and the young ladies were prepared to hear whatever he had to say for himself. He was a tall, heavy-looking young man of about five-and-twenty, with a grave air about him, and oddly formal manners. He had not been in the drawing room for very long before he complimented Mrs Bennet on her fine family.
“You are very kind, sir,” answered Mrs Bennet. “They are all fine girls, though none of them are as well favoured as Jane. I do hope to see them all well settled. It does seem rather impossible to accomplish, with everything arranged so oddly.”
“And their education?” asked Mr Collins. “My father always complained of my Cousin Bennet’s scholarly nature. I am certain thathe must have ensured his daughters received the finest education. Has their governess left them?”
“We never had a governess,” said Kitty, unthinking. Mrs Bennet was beside herself. All of these years, she insisted her daughters did not need to be bothered with education. And the very first time a man actually entered their company with the express intention of finding a wife, she was instantly proven wrong.
“Never had a governess! Why my dear Mrs Bennet, you must have been quite a slave to their education,” exclaimed Mr Collins. “I never imagined that my cousin so neglected his family!”
Mr Bennet was turning rather purple at this, but Elizabeth intervened before her father’s sarcastic wit rose to the fore. “Compared with some families, we might have been neglected, but those of us who wished to learn have never wanted the means. We have always been encouraged to read,” she informed him.
Mary stifled a snort, because Mr Bennet and Elizabeth had disagreed only this morning that although Elizabeth had agreed to provide for his family after his death, it was not her responsibility to educate her sisters, and that Mr Bennet ought to acquire masters for the pianoforte and French for Mary. Elizabeth thought that she might not mind polishing her skills at the instrument and her accent either, but it seemed that she could not ask her parents for the slightest of favours any longer. She knew her uncle would send the funds to pay for it if she asked for them, but she did not wish to encourage her father to continue to shirk his responsibilities.
At dinner Mrs Bennet did everything she could to shove Jane at Mr Collins, but fortunately Mr Collins refused to be interested in her. Or indeed, any of them just yet. Though he had expressed interest in the young ladies in his letter, he made it clear that it was his first intent to learn something about the estate before any other consideration.
“Bennet, might I request to join you in your study tomorrow to learn something about Longbourn?” asked Collins. “I understand that the running and the management of the estate is not yet my business, but I hope you will understand that I was not raised to it as you are. Asmall explanation of the skills I might need, and your most pressing responsibilities would be very edifying, if it is no objection to you.”
The rest of the evening was spent listening to Mr Collins praise his patroness to the skies. Lady Catherine de Bourgh was the wisest, the most practical, the most sensible, the most knowledgeable, and the most noble woman who had ever lived. She advised him on everything, even wrote his sermons for him, and he made it obvious that he could not make a single decision without her counsel. It was clear to them all that their cousin was rather dim-witted, and it seemed as if he relied on his patroness for nearly everything. It was a sobering thought for all of the young ladies, the idea of being bartered off by their mother to a man who was run and dominated by his neighbour.
Over the following few days,Mr Collins followed Mr Bennet all over the estate. He watched with concern as Mr Bennet showed him some examples of correspondence from neighbours, attorneys, grain dealers, seed suppliers, and tradesmen, and with outright horror as his cousin attempted to explain the ledgers. Apparently Mr Collins had great difficulty with sums, and struggled with his parish ledgers.
Mr Collins also did not ride, had no talent for talking to the tenants in any sort of tactful manner, and was frightened of the farm animals, especially the pigs and horses for some odd reason. He spent the entire visit waiting for Mrs Bennet or one of the other ladies to instruct him on what was expected of him.
“The man is the perfect husband, Jane,” Mrs Bennet insisted. “I have never met such a perfect specimen in all my years. He is so simple he requires a woman to lead him in all things! If I were not stuck with Mr Bennet, I would marry him myself!”
Mrs Bennet was not wrong about the man needing to be led. Elizabeth had been watching him closely, and it was true. She could tell that when he wed, his wife would need to pick out his stockings for him, he was so uncertain of himself. He was not otherwise objectionable, other than being somewhat unattractive, and rather too heavyfor a petite woman’s comfort. He also needed to bathe more, but it was obvious that he would do whatever his future bride required of him.
The man had made it clear that he would not consider Jane. “Though it is tempting to be guided solely by sentiment or appearance, I cannot but comprehend that a wife of practical sense and clear judgement would be my greatest asset,” he said to Mrs Bennet’s most recent attempts to guide him to Jane. “Lady Catherine has urged me that my lady must be of great intellect to assist me in the endeavour of managing Longbourn, which is no small responsibility.” Elizabeth did not know whether to be relieved for Jane, or offended that her elder sister’s intelligence had been insulted just because she was beautiful, particularly when her sister was better than even their father with arithmetic. Upon reflection, she decided on the former.
Mary was attempting to gain the man’s attention by discussing Fordyce and the most recent tenant issues with him. Her sums were sufficient for the mistress or even the owner of an estate, but Mr Collins seemed intent on not considering a particular wife until he had learned everything he needed to know.
CHAPTER 7
Mrs Bennet was planning a dinner in honour of Mr Collins, but on his third night in the neighbourhood, Mrs Lockhart sent a note inviting him to join their family’s invitation to Netherfield for a dinner party. Mr and Mrs Lockhart were a kind couple who added greatly to the tone of their neighbourhood. The gentleman had about seven thousand a year inherited from a maternal relation, was in his early thirties, and was hoping to purchase an estate one day in the not so distant future. Mrs Lockhart was perhaps six-and-twenty, of middling beauty and exceptional kindness, and a true friend and comfort to Elizabeth since she had won the lottery. Mr and Mrs Lockhart were well enough off not to require a handout of any sort, and the lady, so recently married and in possession of most of her greatest hopes, had no cause to be resentful of Elizabeth for any reason.
Mr and Mrs Lockhart had met under interesting circumstances. A matchmaking house party! No one in Meryton had ever heard of such a thing, nor were they certain such a thing could be proper, though Mrs Lockhart assured them that it was.Ever After Endwas an elegant manor with a romantic name, and placed within an hour’s journey of Bath. Owned by a Mrs Theodosia Darlington, it boasted an attractivesummer’s entertainment amongst others whose primary desire was to find a person whowantedto wed.
“When there are twelve gentlemen and twelve ladies present, and each of them has paid fifty pounds to be among others who are actively searching for a mate, couples tend to pair up rather quickly!” giggled Mrs Lockhart. “And the chaperones, they are all reasonable people who are only there to lend their respectability to the activities. They are all rather eccentric, but none of them sit and gossip over the pairings, nor create expectations amongst the guests. Compromises are strictly not allowed. If you claim to have been compromised there, everyone will simply say you were lying and that it never happened. Everything is done respectably, but also with a great deal of consideration of all parties involved. Without feeling my mother and her friends hovering over me and supervising my courtship, it took no time at all to fall in love as much as I chose.”
“It sounds like heaven,” said Elizabeth. A courtship over which none of her relations, not even her aunt and uncle, could make her feel awkward? She had met a few tradesmen in London while visiting Gracechurch Street, and though her aunt meant well, her excitement over the attention they paid Elizabeth made her feel self-conscious, even if her aunt did not display such enthusiasm in company.
Mrs Bennet did not like the idea of the house parties in question at all.Her daughtershad no need to pay such large sums of money to catch a man. Her Jane could not be so beautiful for nothing, and at least privately, Mrs Bennet occasionally acknowledged that her brother was correct,Lizzycould not be so clever for nothing, and had the family’s safety secured. And though Lizzy was not as beautiful as Jane, with such a sum, it was likelysome manwould wish to marry her. Mrs Bennet would have to be certain it was not a poor man who would need Lizzy’s house or Lizzy’s funds. AndMary; Mary was looking very well lately, and as her second most clever daughter, Mrs Bennet had high hopes that she would catch Mr Collins, who wanted a clever wife, obviously to help him with his duties as master of Longbourn. Mrs Bennet had shared this hope with every other matron in the neighbourhood only the day before. No, her girls were well ontheir way to do well enough for themselves. They were quite above paying fifty pounds to find a husband.
